The African Union has made some effort in responding to crises across the continent, at least when compared to its precursor, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). However, its response to the ongoing crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been notably underwhelming. While the appointment of a Special Envoy on Genocide Prevention and Mass Atrocities is a step in the right direction, it is not enough. The DR Congo's eastern region has been a theatre of violence for decades. The resurgence of armed conflict in recent years is just an example of a problem that has been left to escalate having been prevalent for close to three decades. At the heart of these atrocities is a militia group calling itself the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a group founded and still largely composed of perpetrators of the Genocide against the Tutsi that took place in 1994. This outfit, which has since birthed several splinter groups but with a similar objective, has been openly supported by the Congolese government, despite having been sanctioned by the UN and the United States for its atrocities. The African Union must therefore take a strong stance against the DR Congo government's complicity in the atrocities committed by the FDLR which the former has openly declared support for. Most importantly, the AU should condemn this behavior unequivocally and demand that the Congolese authorities take immediate steps to dismantle these groups and bring their leaders to justice. The people of the eastern DR Congo have suffered for far too long. For nearly 30 years, hundreds of thousands of them have lived as refugees in neighbouring counties including Rwanda having fled from the FDLR and their ilk. It is time for the AU and the international community to hold the DR Congo government accountable for its actions and to work towards a lasting peace in the region, because without the Kinshasa regime’s commitment, piece will remain a receding mirage.
